Housing activist group welcomes MMC’s removal

Western Cape activist group Reclaim the City has welcomed Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’s decision to fire Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for human settlements Malusi Booi from his position on Thursday, after allegations of corruption and fraud were levelled against him.

Now that Booi is out, the group is calling on the mayor to revisit social housing talks – particularly concerning the Cissie Gool House (CGH) – which were abandoned under the councillor’s tenure.

As leader of the portfolio, Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Booi was meant “to lead the city’s commitment to redress through the delivery of housing opportunities”.

Displacements solution

In a statement issued on Friday, Reclaim the City said it wants to work with the City of Cape Town (CoCT) to find a social housing solution that will see the over 900 people housed at CGH – following gentrification-linked evictions and displacements – better accommodated.

Booi was appointed MMC for human settlements in 2018, and according to Reclaim the City discussions with the portfolio broke down in late 2019.

“In 2019, the City of Cape Town started a process with CGH residents to co-design the future of the occupation,” it said.

“This meant that they believed affordable housing could be developed at CGH in a way that included us as part of the solution, rather than seeing us as an obstacle to be removed before affordable housing could be built.

“We worked with NGOs, city officials and city consultants to assess the structural issues of the buildings that we call home and started working on an alternative version for the future of CGH that included us.

“Later in 2019, the city changed its mind completely and decided to abandon the process that we had all committed to without providing us with a proper explanation.”

Suspension, removal

In mid-March, Hill-Lewis suspended Booi from the committee after the South African Police Service’s Commercial Crimes Investigation Unit conducted search and seizure operations at city offices.

The mayor subsequently appointed Alderman James Vos as acting mayoral committee member in the portfolio.

Reclaim the City has called for the mayor to be open and transparent about the allegations against Booi that convinced him to remove the MMC.

It also wants the mayor to recognise the role of civil society in the city.

“We call on the city to recognise the role of civil society formations’ contributions to make our city more inclusive … We call on the mayor to speed up building well-located affordable housing,” it said.

Booi now faces possible suspension from participating in the DA’s party-political activities after its provincial executive committee met last week to discuss his future in the party. Reports indicate that the former MMC is expected to plead his case to the party in the coming days.

Read:
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Cape Town lacks urgency to build well-located affordable housing, says activists